Conservatives could split if new leader tries to outflank Reform, centrists warn

Senior Conservatives have warned that the party could split if Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick pursue an overtly populist path as leader, after the party's main centrist group refused to endorse either candidate.

- Peter Walker

With moderate Tories still reeling from the shock ejection of James Cleverly from the contest, leaving a choice of two MPs firmly on the party's right, shadow ministers and Tory MPs urged the pair to not focus too much on chasing Reform voters.

One Conservative centrist described the party's position as "bleak", and the Tory Reform Group (TRG), which represents many one-nation Conservatives, said it could not endorse either Badenoch or Jenrick for the leadership.

"Both have used rhetoric and focused on issues which are far and away from the party at its best," it said in a statement, adding that it had also been "consistently disappointed by the lack of engagement from the two candidates chosen by MPs".

There is particular worry among some Conservatives that Jenrick's promise to immediately pull the UK out of the European convention on human rights (ECHR) so as to be able to expel asylum seekers, a plan he reiterated in a speech yesterday, could divide party MPs.

Answering questions afterwards, Jenrick insisted his campaign "represents all the traditions of our party", with support from some centrist Tories such as Victoria Atkins, one of the TRG's patrons.